


Once Upon A Time

by ArchangelUnmei



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Community: 31_days, Gen, Storytime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-02
Updated: 2010-09-02
Packaged: 2017-10-11 10:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/111214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchangelUnmei/pseuds/ArchangelUnmei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bedtime stories are supposed to be happily ever after, so she had to lie. Just a little.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once Upon A Time

**Author's Note:**

> December 15, 2008 ~ _only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all_  
> Mentions of past James/Lily, Remus/Tonks and Remus/Sirius
> 
> Rowling doesn't give us firm dates about the birth years of the Black sisters, but through extrapolation Andromeda would almost have to be born sometime around 1953, making her about seven years older than Sirius. Because we don't know her exact birthday, I can't tell her exact year at Hogwarts. So for the sake of this story, I'm going to say Andromeda was in her seventh year when the Marauders were in their first.

"Grandma, tell me a story!"

Andromeda Tonks paused, looking down at her grandson. At five years old, his metamorph magic was still rather chaotic, so she was never quite sure what she would see. At the moment, he seemed to have settled into his 'default', grinning up at her with a face that reminded her rather a lot of pictures she'd seen of Remus when he was young, the gap between his front teeth just giving him more charm.

She sat down on the edge of his bed and couldn't help but reach out to ruffle his hair. "Alright, but just a short one."

"Tell me about the Marauders!"

His eyes shone in anticipation, and internally Andromeda sighed. Part of her wished she'd never begun telling him stories about Hogwarts' greatest pranksters, but at the same time, she couldn't help it. They were some of the biggest damn heroes she'd ever known, and she didn't want them to be forgotten. She'd never told Teddy who they really were. He didn't need to know that yet. Maybe when he was older.

"Alright. Have I told you about the time that Moony nearly made himself sick because he was studying so much, and Padfoot and Prongs decided to keep him out of the library for a week?"

Teddy's eyes got big, and he grinned. "Oh wow, really? I bet Moony didn't like that!" He giggled, and Andromeda smiled wistfully.

She hadn't been there, it had been the boys' fifth year, if she remembered right, when Remus was studying for his OWLs. She'd already been graduated, but Sirius had taken great relish in telling her the whole story (with only a _few_ minor embellishments).

"Well, it was in the spring of their fifth year, and it took both Padfoot and Prongs to drag Moony out of the library. Luckily, Padfoot was able to distract him with..." she paused. "...Sweets. Like chocolate."

_"So I kissed him." Sirius looked infinitely smug. "You should have seen James's face, Andy, it was great! And kissing Moony is just... wow. Until he started flailing and kicked me in the shin. But it got him out of the library!"_

"And they took him up to the Gryffindor common room, where Wormtail was waiting with pumpkin juice to help take Moony's mind off studying and panicking about OWLs."

_It hadn't been pumpkin juice, of course, it was firewhiskey. Sirius had refused to tell her where they'd gotten it, saying only it was a most ancient and secret Gryffindor supply line. They'd all gotten drunk, and James had waxed poetic about the many charms of Lily Evans, until (Sirius said) they'd all been forced to leap on him and pummel him with couch cushions._

But that had been so long ago... Andromeda finished up her tailored story, and tucked Teddy under the covers. "Now go to sleep. Remember, we're going to Uncle Harry's house for dinner tomorrow."

Teddy's sleepy eyes lit up, and he nodded, grabbing his favorite stuffed dog (black, of course, Harry had been the one to give it to him) to cuddle. "Hey grandma?"

"Hm?" She raised an eyebrow at him, getting up to turn on his night light.

"Whatever happened to the Marauders? After they graduated from Hogwarts, I mean."

She paused, hand on the light switch, and closed her eyes.

_-They were betrayed, all of them. Betrayed by life, and by growing up. In the end, none of them had gotten the happily ever after that they so richly deserved. They'd all died so Harry could live, and she hated him for that, sometimes, because she'd loved the Marauders more._

She opened her eyes and sighed, softly. Then she gave Teddy a small smile. "I'll tell you, someday, when you're a little bit older."

He grinned at the prospect of new Marauder stories, and she only wished she could give him the happily ever after he was expecting. But when he was older, she would tell him the truth.

The story of the Marauders was tragic, yes, but also grand and noble. It was a tale worth telling. It was worth telling of loyalty and love and courage. The Marauders would live on, Andromeda would make sure of that.

They deserved that much, at least.

She made sure Teddy was securely tucked in, then retreated to her room and looked sadly at the pictures lining her bookcase, feeling so much older than she really was. One of Ted and Nymphadora when she was a little girl, both smiling and laughing, talking and gesturing wildly. Her and Ted's wedding picture. One of Remus and Nymphadora together, a candid shot of them talking, their heads leaned together. Another, taken years earlier, of Remus sitting at a table, probably studying, as Sirius snuck up behind him and pounced to nuzzle into his neck, making Remus yelp and flail comically.

Andromeda had never doubted that Remus loved her daughter, but she also knew that Sirius, at least, had loved him. She and Remus had never had a chance to speak of Sirius, so she didn't know if the feeling was mutual. But she knew her cousin's death had left a large hole in the werewolf's heart. Perhaps it was better, that Remus had followed them into death, the Marauders together again at last.

And, she thought darkly, at least Remus had lived long enough to know Peter was dead.

She stopped at the end of her bookcase, looking sadly at the picture sitting there. She'd taken it at the end of the Marauder's seventh year, when she'd gone to visit just after they'd finished all their NEWTs. It was taken in the Gryffindor common room, a warm, candid shot that she would treasure always.

James and Lily were sitting together on one of the couches, James slouched easily with his tie undone and shirt half unbuttoned, arm around Lily who was curled comfortably against his chest. Remus was sitting in one of the arm chairs, half leaned forward to rest his elbows on Sirius's shoulders where he was sitting on the floor, leaning back against Remus's knees. Their eyes met in the picture, and they grinned at each other. And, a little apart even then, Peter was sitting on the hearth off to one side, smiling tiredly and fidgeting with the knot in his tie.

Andromeda sighed again and dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve.

Big damn heroes.


End file.
